White Sauce Spaghetti with Veggies

After a month long absence, it’s good to be back in this space. But i do a regular check though! This time I am here with one of my all time favourites! The white sauce spaghetti!!!! Usually I resort to the red sauce with tons of herbs (spices I sayJ) and vegetarian meatballs (recipe soon). As i find them quite easy and guilt- free.

But my heart always craves for the cheesy, creamy deliciousness which i try to suppress or slash back! But no longer can it be pushed, as the desire has transformed into an urge and there was something sinister about it. Yeah finally i gave up for my urge and cooked the white sauce after a long time which i was like being back in the pavilion. For me, no cutting back on calories in white sauce-It should be creamy, cheesy, smooth, heavenly, decadent and most of all- RICHIE RICH. So obviously the above quoted means you will for sure consume lesser than your daily ration and hence less guilt plus i will make it for breakfast so i can sweat it out during the rest of the day (Eh Damn! I mind about calories!!! Just not in the making of white sauce!!!) The richness just hits right back. ain’t it? Ok!!!Now, having it once in a while is no sin!!!!Just try this at home and u will agree with me.

Ingredients:

Vegetables-1/2 cup (I used carrots and capsicum, finely diced)

Spaghetti- 100 gms

Freshly ground Pepper- 1 tsp

Olive oil-1 tsp

Salt- as needed

For White Sauce:

Butter -2 tbsp

All Purpose Flour/Maida- 1 tbsp (heaped)

Milk-1 & ¾ cup

 Salt- as needed

Red chilli flakes-1/2 tsp (optional)

Dried Oregano-1 /2 tsp

Cheese- ¼ cup

How It Happened:

1. In a large pan boil water with salt. When it starts rolling, add the spaghetti and cook for 7-10 minutes or as per package instructions.

2. Then strain it immediately from the water and run it through cold water to stop cooking. Allow the water to drain completely and set aside.

3. Heat a pan with olive oil and add the vegetables and cook until they appear wilted. Add a little salt and pepper powder and mix well. Switch off the flame and set aside.

4. Heat a sauce pan and add softened butter to it. The flame should be in simmer.

5. When the butter has melted, add all purpose flour and mix well for a minute. Now you may see the all purpose flour is well mixed and cooked with butter as you keep stirring.

6. Now add about ¼ cup of the milk and using a balloon whisk stir the mixture well to avoid/dissolve any lumps.

7. Once when the mixture is smooth, add the remaining milk, increase the flame to medium and keep stirring.

8. Slowly the mixture will thicken and will have a creamy consistency. To check dip in a clean spoon and when you see it evenly coated with the sauce the consistency is right!

9. Simmer the flame, add in salt (check notes), cheese, oregano and red chilli flakes and mix well.

10. Add the sautéed veggies and strained spaghetti and mix well.

11. Switch off the flame and serve warm with snips of parsley or cilantro.

Notes:

* Other veggies like corn, mushrooms can also be used.

* Fresh Oregano can also be chopped and used. Mixed Italian seasoning can also be used. In that case reduce the quantity of red chilli flakes as the seasoning contains chilli flakes.

* We like our pasta al-dente. But in case if you want it a little more soft let it boil for 2 minutes and then strain them from water.

* I prefer a non stick sauce pan to cook the sauce, as they avoid unnecessary hassles.

* Take care not to brown the butter else the colour, flavour and taste will totally differ. Also cook in simmer to avoid burning of the flour. The flour should be cooked well in butter before adding milk else they will impart a raw flavour and powdery texture to the sauce.

* The key to getting a perfectly smooth sauce is to avoid any lumps which mean pockets of uncooked flour in your sauce (Nah!!!). The trick to avoid forming lumps is to add a little milk at first and dissolve the cooked flour in it well, then add the remaining milk. If that is done right, the rest of the process is a breeze. Here you need a magic wand – a balloon whisk which for sure saves a lot of elbow grease when compared to a normal spatula.

* While adding salt to the sauce, mind that your cheese has salt too. So adjust it accordingly!

* Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency the flame should immediately be simmered else the sauce will continue to thicken. In case if you have prepared the sauce in advance switch off the flame immediately and set aside. When it’s time to serve, you can reheat it in simmer and add the spaghetti and vegetables. Also switch off the flame a little earlier than it reaches your desired consistency as the sauce will continue to cook for a few minutes more.

* If you find the sauce to be too thick, then add a little milk and mix them in simmer.

* I used boiled milk.